Slump or not, I like seein those walks! I cannot wait for him to get to Corpus. I will make sure to see him play when a chance comes.
Sunday Stories #1 breaks out of his slump in a big way! Marc Krauss' hot streak continues. Mike Foltynewicz took the mound looking to get himself going. Recap Oklahoma City 10, Albuquerque 7 The Redhawks have taken the first 2 in New Mexico. Last year, they were 2-6 in Albuquerque. Consistency was the key. They scored 2 in 4 straight innings (2nd-5th) and added single tallies in the 7th and 8th to get the victory. Everyone had at least 1 hit for OKC except for Jason Jaramillo. After a flub in the field by Jimmy Paredes gave the Isotopes a 1-0 lead in the 1st, he redeemed himself in the 2nd with a 2-run shot, his 2nd of the season. He finished 3-5 with 2 runs scored. Jonathan Villar went 2-4 (average now .227) with an RBI single in the 3rd. Later in the inning, he scored one of the runs that wasn't driven in, as they were attempting to pick him off 3rd. Well, that throw got away. The recently demoted Brett Wallace hit a solo shot in the 4th, his 1st of the season. Robbie Grossman went 3-5 with 2 RBI singles and his first extra-base hit of the season, a double with 1 out in the 3rd. Marc Krauss led off the 5th with a solo shot, hit 4th of the season. He went 2-4 and scored twice. Che-Hsuan Lin went 2-3 with an RBI single in the 5th and walked twice. Trevor Crowe scored on a wild pitch in the 8th. He's also on a 15-game hitting streak. Ross Seaton went 4 1/3 and allowed 6 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Science Guy (that's Eric Berger) went 1 2/3 as the first man out of the bullpen. He allowed a run on a hit (not a homer) and struck out 1. Josh Zeid, Kevin Chapman, and Jose Valdez finished with a scoreless inning between them. Zeid and Chapman walked 1 and fanned 1 in the 7th and 8th, respectively, while Valdez worked around a single from Dee Gordon (and a wild pitch) to punch out Scott Van Slyke to end the game. Game 3 of this series has Jose Cisnero and Rudy Owens going up against Matt Magill. First pitch is at 6:35 Mountain. Frisco 7, Corpus Christi 1 The Hooks will have to settle for a split. Enrique Hernandez got the only run when he scored on a double play in the 2nd. Jonathan Meyer went 2-4, and George Springer had a double for Corpus' only extra-base hit. Matt Heidenreich's afternoon started off well enough, but then... Frisco roughed him up for 3 in the 5th, with the big hit being a 2-run homer by Jared Hoying. Heidenreich made it through 5, but he ultimately surrendered 4 runs on 8 hits (that 2-run homer) and struck out 5. R.J. Alaniz finished the final 4 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and striking out 3. The Hooks hit the road for 4 in Kevin Chapman's least favorite city, Midland. Jake Buchanan and Carlos Quevedo team up to take on Zach Neal, with the first pitch coming at 6:30. Lancaster 6, Bakersfield 5 Dramatics in the Hangar! The Jethawks earn a split in the series by walking off with a victory. They scored 2 in the 6th to take a 4-2 lead. However, the Blaze got 3 in the top of the 7th to retake the lead. But, the Jethawks tied it in the bottom half, and Andrew Aplin's double was the winner. Delino DeShields went 2-5 with a double and scored twice, raising his average to .349. Nolan Fontana went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts, but he drew a walk, stole a base (2), and scored twice. His 2nd run won the game. He beat a double play and Aplin sent him home. Chris Epps was 2-4 with a 2-run homer in the 6th, his 1st of the season. Preston Tucker had an RBI single in the 1st for the Jethawks' first run. In addition to his walk-off double, Aplin had 2 other RBIs; he tied the game with an RBI single in the 7th and hit a fielder's choice in the 3rd that scored DeShields. Mike Foltynewicz only lasted 4 innings and he battled some control issues, but the damage done to him was limited. Folty allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 4, and struck out 3. Jonas Dufek worked around a leadoff double in the 5th to retire the side, striking out 1. Blair Walters went 3 innings and allowed 3 unearned runs (all on a 3-run homer) on 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4. Travis Ballew is on an impressive streak. He's struck out the side in his 4th consecutive inning, but the streak he's on is 13 straight strikeouts, dating back to April 10 in Lake Elsinore. The Jethawks have Monday off. On Tuesday, they head to Lake Elsinore for 3. Last year, that was a place where for whatever reason, they could not win. Lancaster went 1-13 in Lake Elsinore last year, winning in their 2nd-to-last game there. They also lost 1-0 there in Game 1 of the 1st round of the California League's South Division playoffs, so they were 1-14 overall. 7 (playoff loss included) of those 14 losses were by 1 run. Quad Cities 12, Wisconsin 5 In the snow, Carlos Correa was en fuego. He went 3-4 with a solo shot in the 1st and a 2-run homer in the 8th. The one he hit in the 8th came off of Damien Magnifico, a former OU pitcher whose fastball consistently hits 100. He also scored 4 times and drew a walk. Every River Bandit had at least one hit except for Teoscar Hernandez. Ariel Ovando hit an RBI double in the 3rd. Jordan Scott was 2-3 with a 2-run single in the 3rd. Jesse Wierzbicki hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd (2). Rio Ruiz hit a 2-run double in the 5th. Before Ruiz's double, Austin Elkins hit one of his own, scoring Correa. He also added a steal (4) and scored on a wild pitch in the 8th. Joe Bircher was roughed up in his 4 innings, as he allowed 5 runs on 7 hits (2 homers), walked 1, and struck out 3. Mike Dimock stabilized things, throwing a 1-2-3 5th, striking out 1. Vince Velasquez locked it down for the final 4 innings, allowing a hit, walking 1, and fanning 5. The middle game of the series will take place at 6:35, pitting Dan Minor and Lance McCullers against Brent Suter. Three Stars 3. Jimmy Paredes, 3B/OF, Oklahoma City 3-5, 2-R HR (2), 2 R Unfortunately, I don't think there's any room for him on the Astros' 25-man roster. I would like to see him in Houston in a super-utility role sometime this season, though. 2. Vince Velasquez, P, Quad Cities Save (2), 4 IP, H, BB, 5 K Lost in Correa's spectacular day was Velasquez having one of his own. Next to Asher Wojciechowski, he's probably had the best start out of all the starters in the system. 1. Carlos Correa, SS, Quad Cities 3-4, 2 HR (3), 3 RBI, 4 R No biggie... just doing what we've been expecting of him. His patience at the plate has been outstanding. Honorable Mentions Andrew Aplin, CF, Lancaster: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Congrats to game winning hitter guy Andrew Aplin.He's a "Really Good Player". <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23GoodPicture">#GoodPicture</a> <a href="http://t.co/76xUqitbDw" title="http://twitter.com/MorganEnsberg/status/326128472764317696/photo/1">twitter.com/MorganEnsberg/…</a></p>— Morgan Ensberg (@MorganEnsberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorganEnsberg/status/326128472764317696">April 22, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Marc Krauss, 1B/DH, Oklahoma City: 10-game hitting streak. Keep up this start, and he'd probably leapfrog ahead of Brett Wallace in the pecking order in the corner infield positions. Robbie Grossman, CF, Oklahoma City: First extra-base hit of the season. That's about the only thing that hasn't been going for him. Otherwise, he's been quite effective at setting the table. Travis Ballew, P, Lancaster: He struck out Cory Spangenberg on April 10 for the final out of that game, and has been absolutely locked in. 13 straight strikeouts. 15 in 6 2/3... that's good enough for 21.8 per 9 innings. Jesse Wierzbicki, 1B, Quad Cities: This year's Zach Johnson. Goat Teoscar Hernandez really missed out.
Lets not forget Cosart, who is actually looking like an ace for the 1st time. To think Ballew was drafted in the 23rd round.
And hes is pitching in the hitter friendly CAL league and hes only 21 years old, so its not like he is old for the league. Obviously I dont see him continuing this streak for long, but he definitley makes himself an interesting prospect. Anyone know what his pitches are like?
From what I've read before, he's a short righthander with a good breaking ball and a low nineties fastball.
And an arm slot that moves around a lot, which may be a reason for his control and consistency issues.
Correa's 2nd home run last night: <iframe src='http://www.milb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=26489597&width=400&height=224&property=milb' width='400' height='224' frameborder='0'>Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe> If the video isn't showing, then it's at the top of the MiLB.com home page. MiLB.com: Cosart faring well in piggyback system
QC trailing Wisconsin 1-0 in the 2nd. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/qcriverbandits">qcriverbandits</a> lineup at Wisconsin: Hernandez-8 Correa-6 Elkins-4 Wierzbicki-3 Joyce-DH Ruiz-5 Morales-2 Ovando-9 Scott-7 Minor/McCullers-1</p>— QC River Bandits (@QCRiverBandits) <a href="https://twitter.com/QCRiverBandits/status/326471017683877888">April 22, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Corpus and Midland are scoreless in the 2nd. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Here's how the <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23cchooks">#cchooks</a> lineup tonight in Midland <a href="http://t.co/LGZqvSNL3K" title="http://twitter.com/cchooks/status/326435224189804544/photo/1">twitter.com/cchooks/status…</a></p>— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) <a href="https://twitter.com/cchooks/status/326435224189804544">April 22, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Lineup @ ABQ: Grossman CF, Elmore 2B, Crowe DH, Krauss RF, Paredes 3B, Wallace 1B, Lin LF, Villar SS, Clark C; Owens P. 7:35 p.m. start</p>— OKC RedHawks (@okcredhawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/okcredhawks/status/326485535524810753">April 22, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>SS Carlos Correa stops single by Mitch Haniger in shallow CF, fires home to nab Tyrone Taylor. @<a href="https://twitter.com/qcriverbandits">qcriverbandits</a> 2, @<a href="https://twitter.com/timberrattlers">timberrattlers</a> 2, End 10</p>— QC River Bandits (@QCRiverBandits) <a href="https://twitter.com/QCRiverBandits/status/326520088285028353">April 23, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Monday Stories So, what did Carlos Correa have in store for an encore? Extra innings for Quad Cities. How did that turn out? Pretty blah night as the clubs in the upper minors combined for 2 runs. Recap Albuquerque 8, Oklahoma City 1 Not much here. Cody Clark's solo homer in the 3rd (1) was the only Redhawks run. Jonathan Villar had his 4th straight 2-hit game; he had a single and a double. His average is now .242. Rudy Owens' night went well... but it quickly went south for him. He made it through the inning, but not before allowing 5 runs on 7 hits, walking 4, and striking out 3. Kyle Hallock went 3 innings and allowed 2 runs (both on a 2-run homer) on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Lance Day finished it out, allowing a run on 2 hits and striking out 1 in the 8th. Jordan Lyles will be on the hill for OKC as they wrap up their brief roadtrip. First pitch is at 12:05 Mountain. His opponent is TBD. Midland 2, Corpus Christi 1 The Hooks walked off losers thanks to Jeremy Barfield's solo homer off Carlos Quevedo with 2 outs in the 9th. Rene Garcia's RBI single in the 3rd was the lone tally. Jonathan Meyer was 2-4 and scored the only run. Jio Mier was 1-4 with 2 steals (4). George Springer singled and also added a steal (3). Jake Buchanan had another fine start, as he allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and fanned 4 over 5 shutout innings. Quevedo took the loss, as he allowed 2 runs (both on solo shots) on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Nick Tropeano and Bobby Doran will face Josh Bowman in the middle game of this series. First pitch will be at 6:30. Lancaster was off The Jethawks will begin a 3-game series in Lake Elsinore beginning at 6:05 Pacific. The team of Brady Rodgers and Chris Devenski will be on the mound for game 1. Their opponent will be Matt Wisler. Quad Cities 7, Wisconsin 2 in 11 innings The River Bandits used a 5-run outburst in the 11th for the victory, and they have taken the first 2 games in this series. Carlos Correa, after sending 2 out on Monday, went 1-5 with a walk and a strikeout. He also prevented a loss in the 10th. See previous post. Rio Ruiz went 2-4 with an RBI single in the 4th, and Terrell Joyce had an RBI fielder's choice in the 6th that was called catcher's interference on the field. A bit of confusion there on that play. Austin Elkins went 3-6 with 2 runs scored. Dan Minor went 5 innings and allowed a run (on a groundout in the 1st) on 1 hit, walked 2, and struck out 2. Lance McCullers tagged in for 4 and allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 5. John Neely got the victory, as he allowed 4 hits over 2 scoreless innings. The River Bandits had 2 outs in the 11th when their offense got a jolt. Rio Ruiz and Jobduan Morales drew walks, then a wild pitch from Martin Viramontes put Ruiz on 3rd and Morales on 2nd. Ariel Ovando then drew another walk to load the bases, then Jordan Scott's single brought home Ruiz, reloaded the bases, and gave QC a 3-2 lead. Then, one batter later, Teoscar Hernandez sent everyone home with a triple. He would score himself on another wild pitch from Viramontes with Correa at the plate. The River Bandits will look for the sweep, as they send out Mike Hauschild and Colton Cain at 12:05. They will be opposed by Ryan Gibbard. Three Stars 3. Rio Ruiz, 3B, Quad Cities 2-4, 2B, RBI, R It's been a tough opening month for The River. However, it doesn't look like he's been overmatched. Hopefully the last 2 games can be something he can build on for a strong finish to April. His walk helped set the tone for that big 11th inning for Quad Cities. 2. Teoscar Hernandez, CF, Quad Cities 1-5, 3-R 3B in 11th, R, BB Dominican Summer League stats should probably be taken with a grain of salt, but I've been enamored with Hernandez ever since his impressive debut in 2011. He held his own in the GCL in 2012, and it looks like he's primed for a breakout year in 2013. I've been saying it for a while; Teoscar is a legit five-tool candidate. George Springer lite is probably his ceiling. And he's got a great name, too. He's also the poster boy for a Latin kid who slipped through the cracks, but is on the verge of being a legitimate prospect. I've said this ad nauseam, but it bears repeating: it only cost the Astros $20,000 to sign him. 1. Jake Buchanan, P, Corpus Christi 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K The resurgence of Buchanan is becoming an interesting side story this season. He might have rediscovered his Lancaster form. Honorable Mentions Dan Minor, P, Quad Cities: His pitchability complements Lance McCullers' power rather well. Real solid night from him. Austin Elkins, 2B, Quad Cities: Has had at least 1 hit in every game since coming up from extended spring training. Carlos Quevedo, P, Corpus Christi: Despite the 2 solo shots, he pitched reasonably well. I think he's earned his spot with the Hooks. Lance McCullers, P, Quad Cities: Still searching for that 1st win as a pro, and he had himself a good outing after getting roughed up a bit his last time out. As much as I'd like to see him blow everyone away with his overpowering arsenal, I really like the fact that he's keeping the ball down. He's a lot more polished than I thought. Jonathan Villar, SS, Oklahoma City: Looks like the bat is coming around. Goat Yeah, he might have pitched alright, but giving up a walk-off anything with 2 outs really grinds my gears. Sorry, Carlos Quevedo.
Early look at the system's pitching prospects As inconsistent and mediocre as the Stros' top hitting prospects have been, the system's top pitching prospects have been quite the opposite. Top pitchers at every level (minus Lancaster) are putting up strong starts to the year. Good strikeout rates can be seen across the board to go along with great ERA's and WHIP's. Jarred Cosart (AAA): 2-0, 1.02 era, 0.85 whip in 17.2ip. 10.7 k/9, 4.2 k/bb. Nick Tropeano (AA): 0-2, 2.00 era, 1.11 whip in 18.0ip. 9.5 k/9, 9.5 k/bb. Asher Wojciechowski (AA): 2-0, 0.00 era, 0.67 whip in 18.0ip. 9.5 k/9, 4.75 k/bb. Mike Foltynewicz (A+): 0-0, 5.00 era, 1.94 whip in 18.0ip. 8.5 k/9, 1.4 k/bb. Lance McCullers (A): 0-2, 2.63 era, 1.68 whip in 13.2ip. 9.2 k/9, 2.3 k/bb. Vince Velasquez (A): 2-0, 1.50 era, 0.61 whip in 18.0ip. 8.5 k/9, 4.25 k/bb. The only top pitching prospect crapping the bed is Folty. Then again even the older, more experienced prospects at Lancaster (West and Rodgers) have also been terrible. Lancaster is a tough place to pitch. I'd also like to give a nod to Luis Cruz and Chris Devenski at Lancaster and Jake Buchanan, Bobby Doran and David Martinez at Corpus. These guys are just doing work. They don't have the sexy upside of the guys listed above but they're putting up great numbers and making the case that they're more than just organizational depth. Ultimately the early returns look very promising for the Astros' young pitchers. Hopefully the tandem system isn't skewing the results and they continue to flourish when they get stretched out. If the bats don't start heating up, the hitter heavy top 20 might look very different in the offseason.
Apparently the Corpus Christi staff has walked the fewest batters of any team in the Minor Leagues. Extremely impressive.
Have the batters done as bad as the pitchers have been good? Springer and Santana still have K issues, but have hit ball well when not striking out. Correa has been good for age. Fontana and Tucker have done great so far. Rio Ruiz is having trouble. Villar started slow, but his slash line is returning towards mean at a very quick rate. Stassni and Singleton have yet to play.
The protective measures around the ballpark has allowed Quad Cities' next homestand to be played as scheduled. Speaking of the River Bandits... they were walloped 9-1 by Wisconsin. OKC got thrashed 12-1 by Albuquerque too. So, the day games were pretty rough today.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>…also good to see Telvin Nash and Kenny Long back in <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23JetHawks">#JetHawks</a> uniforms.</p>— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasondschwartz/status/326867660354777089">April 24, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>For those asking, Telvin Nash was activated from DL today.</p>— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasondschwartz/status/326868643524771840">April 24, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
